Lazarus
by Esherymack
Summary: The Black Order fell long ago, but their mysterious Guardian remained behind to guard the slumbering bodies of four Exorcists. Three hundred years have passed, and ot is now the year 2211. The future is well underway. But why does Lazarus seem so familiar, pariticularly to Allen?
1. Prologue

A/N: Well, I was being an idiot and got myself grounded, so I'm typing and publishing this on my iPod. Not easy, thank ye very much.

Disclaimer: DGM belongeth toeth Hoshino-sensei...ith.

* * *

_I was never supposed to live another day. I found myself living another 300 years._

_The time of the Black Order has long passed. There are no Akuma to keep out, nor are there Finders to frighten and Exorcists to debate with. There is merely my body, I, the Phantom Lazarus, and the four corpse-like bodies of the last Exorcists on Earth, lonely in this crumbling tower of black marble._

_I admit, I was pretty surprised to find myself waking up, after my accident. They told me what had happened, and what I was. "You are our Guardian. You must never leave us, even long after our time," they said. In life, I was never one for orders, but I had to do their bidding. They had reanimated me, swathed me in stitches and robes, and stowed me away in my catacombs, with only the dead to keep me company, until the day when Akuma felt particularly stupid and attacked us._

_When Walker carried himself and his friends into a never-ending slumber, on the last day of the Order, I was given the task of watching over them until they awoke. For three hundred years, I have waited, and it finally seems as if the day has finally come._

_They now stir._


	2. Old Friend?

A/N: Sorry for the long wait XD I'm behind on a LOT of stuff, so I have no time, really, and now I really wish I never got behind XD Whatever~ This whole story is confusing XD

D. Gray-man belongs to Katsura Hoshino.

* * *

A soft wind whispered past Allen's face, and he cracked an eye. It felt like just last night, Komui had been ushering him and his friends into the dark room that held Hevlaska, and the ancient exorcist had grabbed them all and vanished, as Allen had descended into darkness.

_Wait, it __**was **__just last night, right?_

Gray light flitted through a crack in the wall, igniting dust particles floating in the air. The black floor beneath Allen was ice-cold and hard, and his back ached profusely.

His neck was stiff as he twisted to look at his friends. They all seemed to be sleeping peacefully. A small ball of rust rested by Allen's face. It twitched, and he jumped. Wiry sticks bent twice, before the whole thing rolled forward and nudged his face, leaving an orange, gritty smudge. Allen saw the small, slightly raised, crumbling cross on the ball's front. "Thim?" he asked, hardly louder than a whisper. He licked his lips and tried again. "Tim?"

The rust ball nudged him again. Allen sat up, his back cracking. Next to him, Lavi mumbled something and turned over.

"What happened to you, Tim?" The floor swayed unevenly, and Allen resisted the urge to lie down again.

"_It's about time you awoke, Walker."_

Allen felt his heart leap to his throat at the rattling voice that echoed around the crumbling room. "W-who's there?"

"_I am Lazarus, standing Guardian of the European Branch of the Black Order."_

"Who?"

"_Yes, it is… expected, that you do not know me. I have been standing silent watch over these ruins for decades."_

"**Decades?!**" Allen yelped, trying to stand. Now, Lenalee and Kanda were blinking confusedly in the light.

"_Do you not know anything? When Komui pushed you into Hevlaska, she sacrificed herself to put all four of you into a deep slumber. It has been… nearly three hundred years, since you have last breathed in air, and I have guarded you for that entire time. It was my original purpose."_

"W-what happened to the Order?" Allen stammered, shocked with every fiber of his being.

"_The day Hevlaska sacrificed herself was its last. The Noah clan tried all they could, but could not break into this room to eradicate the last Exorcists from the planet."_

A skull rolled across the floor from the shadows. _"They also, as you should see, could not withstand my power."_

In the gray, Allen could make out several dark crosses spanning the crown of the skull. _Stigmata._

Allen swallowed. "A-allen?" came Lenalee's voice. He turned to her, and she gave him a confused look. "What… where are we?"

"We're in the Order…" Allen whispered.

"This… this isn't the Order," Lenalee replied, fear in her voice. "Seriously, where are we?"

"_Walker does not lie. This is what remains of the Black Order."_

Lavi and Kanda didn't feel the need to speak. All four exorcists found themselves suddenly, immensely drowned in loss.

"Wait, what about Hevlaska's Innocence pieces?! Where did the pieces go?"

"_Last I checked, they had become part of your own, as you are the last compatible people on the planet."_

"And when was the last you checked?" Kanda snapped, irritated. "Who even are you?"

"_As I told Walker, while you were all asleep, my name is Lazarus, standing Guardian of the Black Order."_

"Che, some Order," Kanda snorted.

"Lazarus, what is the condition of the world currently? Where's the Earl? And why weren't we allowed to try and stop him?"

"_Walker, the world is in chaos. The Millennium Earl, as predicted, took over after he eliminated any threats to his cause. The loss of his Fourteenth angered him greatly."_

"What do you mean, the loss of his Fourteenth?"

"_You were the host of the Fourteenth. According to my memory, shortly before the global attack on all Black Order Headquarter buildings was initiated, the Fourteenth's essence vanished entirely from your body."_

Allen gripped his chest. "It… he… he vanished? Neah vanished?"

"_Yes."_

Kanda grew tired of Lazarus hiding. "Would you just come out here and speak with us face to face, rather than abusing acoustics?"

"Abusing acoustics. I rather like that," said the deep, yet quiet voice. Allen looked up and jumped inside his skin, again. The tall figure in front of him bent and picked up Timcampy in a haggard hand. When he straightened, he looked straight at Allen with his gold and red eyes. They were bright gold in the center, and faded into deep, blood-red. Allen gulped, feeling disturbed by their depth. A few black lines cracked the paper-white face into shards and pieces. Dull, straight black hair fell from under a pure white hood, and the white robe he wore seemed to glow. Bandages covered most of what little skin showed, Allen realized, which caused the black lines on the Guardian's face. "You look frightened, Walker. No warm welcome for your old friend?"

"O-old friend? What are you talking about!" Allen squawked, and his voice hammered him as it bounced off of the walls. The man in front of them flinched at the loud sound.

"Shame, you don't recognize me. No matter, you'll figure it out eventually," the person said as he straightened. "In the meantime… just call me Lazarus."

Just then, Allen registered how stuffy it was in the room. He grimaced at the humidity as well. "Any way we can get out of here?" he queried.

Lazarus shook himself. "Yes, I rather dislike it here, as well. The humidity is no good for the undead, you see," he said, pressing his empty hand against the door and pushing on it. It shrieked on its hinges and grated on the floors, and the hallway extended into one of two directions. Lazarus chose the dark one that swallowed shadows—the other one held a gaping hole and welcomed light in. "Follow me," he said, when the four exorcists hesitated.


End file.
